The Beginning and the End
}} The Beginning and the End is the first quest in The Better Angels. Description As the Second Battle of Hoover Dam looms large, rumors abound that a great slave revolt has been quelled in Arizona, prompting hordes of runaway slaves to flee for the Colorado River, with a sizable Legion army in pursuit. Many speculate about the implications of these events for the war between NCR and Caesar's Legion. Still scarred from the events of Frosthill, the Courier now wonders if one last adventure awaits before the conclusive battle for the Mojave Wasteland. The Better Angels is recommended for veteran Couriers (Levels 35+). Detailed Walkthrough After the events that transpired in Frosthill, a courier approaches you and hands you a letter from Wickham, the note differs depending on whether you completed Enemy of My Enemy or not. Wickham informs you of a secret operation that is going to transpire before the second battle of hoover dam, and despite what Brookshire did to you, they hope this will make amends. Wickham asks that you meet with Ranger Josey in Ranger Station Echo so you can be filled in with the rest of the details, you're free to decline the job. Go to Ranger Station Echo and you'll find Ranger Josey alongside Ranger Watson, speak to him and show him the letter, he'll explain that a large uprising involving Legion slaves has occurred in Arizona and they may be escaping to join the NCR, it's by a riverside south of Bullhead, known as Rorke's Ravine. You are to go down to the camp; Forward Operating Base Omega, with the rangers and help them take down the Legion and assist the escaping slaves. You're welcome to bring companions in order to assist, so let Josey know when you're ready to leave. Upon arrival, Josey and Watson leave you to take on a secret mission across the river, Josey directs you to the higher command for further instructions. Go up to the camp and talk to Lieutenant Hodges who is in a tent thinking, conjure up his past if you want and give him your opinion on what you think he should do next. Inquire about your job and he'll give you the rundown that the camp is soon going to be an important area for the brass, and they need to have everything ready before more reinforcements are sent down and more slaves make it to the camp. Your help is needed to repair one of two robots, a mister handy that help provide improvised aid to soldiers during the fight, or a sentry bot that will assist profusely during the fight. You only have the time to repair one. OPTIONAL: Private Cutty Asking Wickham for an extra job, he asks that you try and get the super mutant; Private Cutty, to use a minigun so he'll help the fight much better, he refuses to use it due to the fear of messing up. Go over to Cutty and you'll see him arguing with Cocker (yes this is the same Cocker and Cutty from Frosthill, they still provide haircuts), asking Cutty why he won't use the minigun, he's afraid that it'll blow up and disfigure him the moment he pulls the trigger, he believes he can do fine with only his sledgehammer and grenades. You'll have to convince him at this point with one of the following: *With a Guns skill of 90, you can reassure him that it is safe and he'll get used to it after firing it a bunch of times once in battle. Trusting you, he uses, but promises that if he does indeed blow up, he'll beat you up with his nubs. *With a Speech skill of 85, you can insist that he do his job as it was an order from his commanding officer. Agitated he uses it. **If you've got less than 85 Speech, you can try betting if he doesn't man up, Cocker is just going to make fun of him during the battle, but he'll just call it that you've been listening to Cocker's shit too much, and that it won't happen. *With Terrifying Presence, you can threaten to make his brain high and tight with a straight razor if he does not use the minigun. Clearly freaked out, he announces that he and the minigun are one. *With Wild Wasteland, you can convince him by using one word; Mothafucka. Knowing who Bad Mothafucka is, he decides to trust in his wisdom as he sees him as an idol, announcing he'll man up and use it to kill shit. OPTIONAL: Robots If you don't have the skill to repair one of these, tell Hodges and he'll skip it, giving you the next job. One of the robots can be repaired with either a Repair skill of 65 or a Science skill of 75, but if you have high luck, you can repeatedly kick the robot and hope for the best it'll run. Depending on which one you repair, it'll help the battle in one of two ways. The medical bot will regenerate health for the troops during the fight, whereas the sentry bot will simply help fight back with it's advanced weaponry. Report back to Hodges and he'll be glad to hear you've fixed one of them. Hodges now wants you to go to a ravine next to you, it's one of their main supply routes known as Chard Canyon, their supply caravan hasn't reported in and you are needed to investigate. Head on over there, and as you go down the ravine, if you have Wild Wasteland, an explosion will emit on one of the rocks and a sniper known as John Goodman will appear clapping, gore of an Ill-Fated Companion will fly down and you can search them for a note. Heading on forward, Fire Geckos will get in your way and you'll have to kill them, there will also be Coyotes to face as well, just after that you'll find the dead caravan, just beside you is a cave you can walk up to known as Ghosts' Hideaway, watch out for the traps and mines as there is gas in the air that will incinerate you if let out any kind of firepower. Upon advancing you'll find the culprits to the attack, a gang known as the Ghosts, kill them and continue forward and kill the chieftan and his pet mole rat Snuggles. Grab the missing supplies briefcase and exit the cave where you will find a mother deathclaw and her children feasting on the blood of the sacked caravan, outrun them or kill them, killing the mother will attack her mate named Rip, kill him or outrun him, however you resolve the situation, get back to camp. Giving the supplies to Hodges, he'll be surprised that the Ghosts were responsible since he thought they were wiped out at bullhead. Hodges asks that you speak to him when you're ready for the next objective. Getting everyone into shape Hodges needs your help in training the soldiers, he asks for your advice on what he can emphasise them with. You'll need either a skill of 75 in Guns, Melee Weapons, or Explosives in order to successfully increase their skill in the category of your choosing, if not, you'll have to Hodges that you're not qualified for it. Either way, Josey comes back and you now have to speak to him. Category:The Better Angels quests